Manchester College soprano Katie McCann was only 7 years old when her
doting granny declared that she would die a happy woman if she could see
her granddaughter perform at Carnegie Hall. Katie’s and her granny’s
dreams come true on May 26 in a Saturday night performance uniting the
College’s A Cappella Choir and its choral alumni with Manchester High
School’s choir … on the stage of that grand, acclaimed New York City
venue.

Katherine McCann, a sophomore from Homewood, Ill., went dress shopping
with her grandmother over spring break. May 26 can’t come soon enough
for either one. While this will be her debut at Carnegie Hall, the
53-member A Cappella Choir and many of its choir alumni had an afternoon
performance in spring 2001.

But this time, Manchester College’s choral music director will hold the
baton – directing not only the College and local high school singers,
but other choirs gathering for the performance.

“It’s impossible to describe the thrill of standing onstage at Carnegie
Hall,” said Dr. Debra Lynn. “It is just incredible to look out into the
audience from the stage and think about all the great performers who
have stood on that stage in the past.” The A Cappella Choir also has
sung in the famous cathedrals of Italy, including at the Vatican. En
route to its residency at Carnegie Hall this spring, the choir will
perform for two Church of the Brethren congregations, and a preview
concert in North Manchester on Friday, May 11.

At Carnegie Hall, the choirs will perform two songs composed by
Manchester College faculty, Prayer for Peace, by Debora DeWitt,
chair of the Music Department, and Earth and All Stars by Debra
Lynn. Other music in a 7 p.m. prelude concert will include Randall
Thompson’s Peaceable Kingdom. At 8 p.m. the choirs will join
choirs from California, performing John Rutter’s Gloria and
Donald McCullough’s Canite Tuba – directed by Debra Lynn.

Area residents will get a preview of the Carnegie Hall performance at
7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 11 at the Manchester Church of the Brethren,
1306 North Beckley in North Manchester. The public is invited to the
concert that includes a free-will offering to help support the Carnegie
Hall trip.

The College choir also will perform for the Springfield Church of the
Brethren in Akron, Ohio, and the Memorial Church of the Brethren in
Martinsburg, Pa., on the way to the Carnegie Hall residency. For details
about those tours,
click here.

The choir’s recent CD, evermore & evermore, will be available at
all performances.

The music of the A Cappella Choir, as well as the Chamber Singers and
the all-women Cantabile, are familiar sounds on the Manchester College
campus. In addition to concerts, the choirs perform for major College
events, such as baccalaureate and Homecoming.

Manchester is a Church of the Brethren college with 1,056 students from
27 states and 26 countries. For more about music at Manchester, visit
www.manchester.edu. To help support the trip to Carnegie Hall,
contact Debra Lynn at
djlynn@manchester.edu.